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MONTREAL (AP) — Antti Niemi experienced two firsts in net for the Montreal Canadiens.First Matt Read Jersey Womens , Niemi made a career-high 52 stops as the Canadiens extended their win streak to three games with a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.Niemi finished one save shy of the Canadiens’ franchise record for saves in a game by a goaltender.With seconds ticking off the clock in the third period, the Bell Centre fans chanted Niemi’s name after every big save.“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that before,” Niemi said. “So it’s pretty overwhelming. It’s great after all my ups and downs to have a couple of good games and be able to do that.“It’s great. I don’t know what to say.”The Panthers fired 84 pucks at Niemi’s goal, with 53 hitting the target and only one making it past the backup goalie. The franchise record is 53 saves held by Carey Price (Nov. 14, 2009) and Wayne Thomas (Mar. 10, 1974).Florida lost its seventh game in a row, extending the team’s longest skid of the season. Their last victory was on Dec. 31, against the Detroit Red Wings.The 35-year-old Niemi Matt Hendricks Jersey Womens , who has won his last three starts, made 21 saves in the third period alone to improve to 8-4-1 on the season. His previous personal save record was 48, set on March 3, 2017, in a 2-1 loss to the Bruins.“He played unbelievable tonight. It was crazy,” Jordie Benn said. “Nemo stole the game. They had some really close-call looks right in tight. Watching him in net tonight, the guys were going nuts on the bench. It was good to see.”Niemi set the tone with a solid glove save on rookie Juho Lamikko midway through the first period.At the start of the third, Niemi made a big right pad save on Aleksander Barkov to preserve Montreal’s two-goal lead Womens Torey Krug Jersey , and another minutes later on Henrik Borgstrom.“He’s the guy who’s literally the hardest working guy in practice,” said Max Domi, who snapped a 17-game goalless drought. “He works on his game on a daily basis. It’s a very well-deserved performance by him. He’s been in this league so long for a reason. He showed that tonight.”Mike Hoffman was the only Panthers player to beat Niemi. He scored a highlight-reel, one-handed goal on a breakaway at 14:11 of the first period, following a bad giveaway by Canadiens center Michael Chaput.Montreal answered 29 seconds into the second period when captain Shea Weber fired a slap shot past James Reimer on the power play, a rare goal for the Canadiens with the man advantage.Claude Julien’s team had not scored on their previous 27 power-play opportunities at Bell Centre, dating to Dec. 1.Phillip Danault gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 10:44 of the second, a no-look backhand shot after Weber’s shot bounced off the end boards behind Reimer.Domi scored his first goal since Dec. 9 when he beat an out-of-position Reimer at 16:53 with a wrist shot from the slot.Jesperi Kotkaniemi added another for Montreal with 5:38 left in the third period before Gallagher scored into the empty net with 1:36 remaining in the encounter.“Tough road trip obviously physically and mentally Tuukka Rask Jersey ,” said Panthers coach Bob Boughner. “We asked the guys to come out tonight with our best effort and get rewarded. We did everything except putting the puck in the back of the net. You have to give Niemi a ton of credit.”The Canadiens were playing in the second half of back-to-back games after a 3-2 overtime victory in Boston on Monday.Roberto Luongo was expected to start between the pipes for Florida but Reimer got the nod instead in a game-time decision. Reimer stopped 23 shots in defeat.Notes: The Panthers outshot the Canadiens 53-28. . Jordie Benn earned his 100th NHL point in his 439th game. . Defenseman Karl Alzner was sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.UP NEXTPanthers: Home against Toronto on Friday.Canadiens: At Columbus on Friday. ST. LOUIS (AP) — One year ago, Robert Thomas was starring in Buffalo for Team Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championship. Now, he is showcasing his skills against Buffalo for much higher stakes.Thomas had a goal and an assist and Jake Allen made 30 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Sabres on Thursday night.“It kind of feels like it’s been a whole whirlwind and now I ended up here,” Thomas said.“It’s just a dream come true.”Jay Bouwmeester, Pat Maroon and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Blues.Jack Eichel scored his 15th goal of the season in the second period for the Sabres.Thomas scored his third goal of the season by swatting the rebound of a shot by Vince Dunn underneath Carter Hutton, who inadvertently knocked it into his net with his elbow.“I know I kind of whacked it underneath him,” Thomas said. “I just heard the ref yell goal and I kind of put my hands up.”Hutton stopped 28 of 32 shots in his first appearance against St. Louis after spending the previous two seasons with the Blues. He lost his third consecutive start and fell to 13-11-2 on the season and 0-3-3 against his former teammates.“Obviously, I think I have to be better Zdeno Chara Jersey ,” Hutton said.“It’s one of those things. I think I’m real close and playing well, but four is just unacceptable.”Allen improved to 13-10-4. He has won five of his last seven starts and improved to 6-1-0 against Buffalo.“He’s giving us a chance to win every night,” Blues interim coach Craig Berube said about his starting goaltender. “He’s aggressive. He’s challenging. He’s confident right now and we’re playing good in front of him, too.”Bouwmeester pushed the lead to 2-0 10:01 into the second period. He one-timed a feed from David Perron and scored his first goal since Feb. 13, 2018, at Nashville.Maroon added some insurance when he backhanded a pass from Thomas past Hutton while positioned behind the goal line. It was his third goal of the season.O’Reilly put the game out of reach when he scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season late in the third period. O’Reilly was making his first appearance against Buffalo since the Sabres traded him to St. Louis during the offseason. He had played three seasons and 224 games with Buffalo.“It’s a big game for us in general, coming off the break and trying to get back into the hunt here,” O’Reilly said. “It’s a big game Eric Fehr Jersey Womens , especially against a team like that being traded from, it always means a bit more. It feels really good to win that one.”Eichel scored on the power play 17:25 into the second period. The goal was Eichel’s 10th in 10 games and the first of his career against the Blues. Montreal and Florida are the only two teams Eichel has not scored against.Buffalo traveled to St. Louis the morning of the game because of the NHL’s holiday break from Dec. 24-26.“Obviously, it’s not an easy day for us in terms of traveling, getting here, and the schedule,” Eichel said. “But I think that as a group we probably should’ve been a little more mature about the situation and just given ourselves a better chance to win.”NOTES: St. Louis LW Robby Fabbri missed his 10th consecutive game with an upper body injury. Blues interim coach Craig Berube said before the game that Fabbri is physically ready to return to the lineup. . Buffalo has not won in St. Louis since Dec. 27, 2009. . D Rasmus Ristolainen has registered a point in four straight games.UP NEXTSabres: Host Boston on Saturday to open a three-game homestand.Blues: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.